


Three Months

by lavachick85



Series: Baby Blues [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Bucky Barnes Has Issues, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Darcy Lewis Needs a Hug, F/M, Fluff, Light Angst, Oblivious Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers Is a Good Bro, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-05-22 08:50:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6072874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavachick85/pseuds/lavachick85
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I’m fat, Steve!” </p>
<p>He blinked once, twice, a third time and gaped at her. “Darcy-Lou, you’re not fat, you’re pregnant. You’re beautiful.” He told her earnestly.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Steve took in the scene before him with a look of quiet contemplation on his face. He narrowed his eyes and took a silent step into the common room.

“Darcy?”

The aforementioned woman spun to face him, her favourite paisley boho skirt dragging around her feet and tucked just beneath her burgeoning bump, a snug fitting tank top accentuating said bump. She looked at him with wide, guilty eyes and tried to hide the contents of her hands behind her back.

“Steve!” She squeaked, trying her best – and failing – to look innocent.

He looked around her, still by the doorway and frowned harder. “Darcy-Lou, are you cleaning?”

She lifted her chin at him and practically dared him to say something. Which he did.

“Darcy, you know that there’s some cleaning products that aren’t safe for the baby… What would you do if something bad happened and – Darce… C’mon Darcy-Lou, don’t cry..” He made to hug her but she stepped back away from him and dropped the citrus cleaning spray on the floor, tugging at the hot pink rubber gloves she wore on her hands. She started crying in earnest when they got stuck around her wrists and wouldn’t come off.

“Goddammit!” She swore, stomping and tugging with all her might. She was growing more and more flustered with each failing second and the tears were falling harder. “God, I can’t even do this right!”

Steve opened his mouth to speak then snapped it shut. “Wait, what do you mean? I don’t follow…?”

She finally managed to get one of the gloves off and threw it with all her might across the room where it landed against the glass window with a slap. Her face was flushed and wet and Steve thought she looked lovely despite her tantrum.

“Darce,” he soothed, hands in the air. “What’s wrong, Sweetheart?”

She scrubbed at her face with trembling hands and tugged her hair free of its elastic. Dark brown curls tumbled down over her shoulders and she scraped it all back off her face only to re-tie it in a knot on top of her head. Her hands found her swollen hips, she was retaining fluid like a motherfucker and she kicked at a cushion that was by her foot.

“I’m fat, Steve!”

He blinked once, twice, a third time and gaped at her. “Darcy-Lou, you’re not fat, you’re pregnant. You’re beautiful.” He told her earnestly.

His words only seemed to upset her more and she started to sob. “T-then why won’t he touch me?!” Her words started to flow out of her mouth like a river of molten lava. “He followed me to my mother’s house in California just to bring me back and now he seems dead set on avoiding me even though it’s pretty damn obvious that he’s responsible for putting me in this condition! He won’t even spend time with me let alone touch me anymore – hell he hasn’t touched me other than when this all happened!! He doesn’t want me anymore, does he?? He’s just like Elvis, Steve! I’ve shackled myself to a modern day Elvis!!” By the time she was finished with her word vomit her face was flushed and she was breathing fast… Too fast.

Steve took three long steps to her side and rubbed her back as he watched the panic creep into her eyes. “You need to slow down, Darce. Darcy! Darcy-Lou, you’re having a panic attack, ok?” He spoke quietly and slowly, rubbing her back and easing her into a sitting position on the nearby sofa as he tried to soothe her.

“Friday, could you please alert Doctor Cho that Miss Lewis and myself need her assistance in the ground floor common room, please?”

“Of course, Captain. Right away.” A moment later Friday came back with a clipped, “Doctor Cho is on her way.”

“Thank you, Friday.”

He knelt at Darcy’s side as she shook and her breathing went haywire, his large hand holding her tiny one, thumb stroking her knuckles as his other hand made soothing trips up and down her spine. She mewled at the contact and leaned into him, her head easily finding his shoulder as her breathing calmed to a more sedate pace and she started to go lax against him.

“Ok, Darcy-Lou?”

She hummed quietly, a sad sound escaping her as he moved to sit her up. Instead he tucked her into his side and sat beside her, arms wrapped loosely around her and his chin on the top of her head.

“Darcy, I have to ask,” he stroked her arm as they waited for the doctor, “What does the whole Elvis reference mean?”

She snorted softly, wriggling against him sluggishly. She was tired now, he knew she was tired because he could still remember the panic attacks that would follow an asthma attack, the fear of being unable to breathe and the racing thoughts that all made it so much worse. He remembered the adrenalin dump and then the sudden fatigue afterwards that would leave him shaking and tired, confused and sluggish.

“Elvis Presley, The King of Rock and Roll, married Priscilla. They had a wondrous love affair until she discovered that she was pregnant and then he refused to ever touch her again in any remotely sexual way because mothers were something pure and perfect.” She looked up at him, tired and worn and feeling genuinely unloved. “I was promised sex, Steve. I should be having loads of sex with my seemingly adoring baby-daddy. Where’s the sex, Steve? Where. Is. The sex?”

He opened his mouth and thought long and hard before speaking. “I think he might be afraid he’s going to hurt you both.” What he wasn’t telling her was the battery of tests they had submitted Bucky to once the team found out Darcy was with child, the rest of them in fact afraid he could injure her as well. Of course the mere notion was ridiculous – he didn’t hurt her before so he wasn’t about to now, but Bucky was still convinced that he was the monster underneath her bed and she didn’t want him. Not really, nor permanently, anyway.

Darcy didn’t like this response, not one bit. “Afraid… He’s afraid?! For fuck’s sake, Steve, I’m the one carrying a super soldier’s baby! I don’t know what’s going on inside me and he gets to just run away and make like an ostrich??” She huffed, tired. “It isn’t fair, Steve.” And she huddled into his side, desperate for the affectionate touch he was offering her. “You however, are a good Bro, Steve.”

He smiled softly and hugged her closer as Doctor Cho came bustling into the room. “Yeah, Darcy,” he didn’t feel like a ‘good bro’ at all. “I’ll bet I am.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what was supposed to be a two part fic has now turned into a monster that's spawning new ideas every day.... Oops!

Darcy blinked awake slowly, the strange feeling of being watched creeping over her. Sure, she was in medical overnight for observation, but this was different and she knew exactly why.

“I know you’re there, Bucky,” she mumbled, wiping the drool from the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. She tried to sit up but the drip going into her hand pinched and she winced sharply. The shadows in the corner moved and Bucky was at her bedside immediately, gentle hands trying to help her only to have her slap him away.

“You don’t get to help me, James Buchanan Barnes! Where have you been the last three weeks, huh?”

He looked down at his shoes, mouth set in a grim line. “Why did Steve catch you cleaning? There are staff for that, you know. Something could happen to the baby; I thought you said you wanted the baby, Darce?”

She scowled at him, her cheeks already turning red with rage. “And I thought you said you wanted ME! How dare you imply that I would even…” She was breathing heavily and her heart monitor was beeping rapidly. She shook her head angrily. “Plus not cleaning up after yourself – especially when you just spilled grape juice on the carpet - is fucking lazy and you know it.”

He closed his eyes, head cocked as if she’d slapped him and licked his lips, brows furrowed. “I,” he cleared his throat. “I always get myself in these messes and I don’t know how to cope and…”

Darcy felt the incredulous flare of anger in her chest. “Are you calling us a ‘mess’, James Barnes?”

He looked up now, eyes wide and horrified. “NO! No, I,” he sighed angrily, hands tugging at his hair. “It’s me, Darcy-girl. I’m the mess.”

She looked at him with wet eyes, fingers picking at the loose thread on her hospital blanket. “Don’t you want us anymore? Because if you don’t, Mama has space for us and I can be gone tomorrow.”

He choked on tears she didn’t even realise he was shedding and he swallowed loudly, shaking his head. “Please don’t. I know I’ve made a mess of things between us but I don’t want you to leave.” He moved to reach for her but stopped himself and started to pull his hand back. She grabbed for him, only managing to catch his pinky finger and pulled him closer until she had his whole hand. Then his wrist, then his forearm. Her fingers stroked the rippling plates lightly.

“I don’t want to go,” she admitted softly, her voice little more than a whisper, “-but Bucky, if you’re only interested in the baby, you need to tell me now.”

He studied her for a moment, then a moment longer and took a step closer to the bed before bending over her and pressing a slow, lingering kiss to her mouth. It was light and gentle but full of promise. It was also the first sign of affection he’d shown her in weeks. “Still want you,” he promised quietly, leaning back in to bite at her bottom lip. “Still want you both, I just don’t know how to...” he trailed off, clearing his throat. “What if I hurt you?”

She rolled her eyes and palmed his cheek, dropping her head back against the soft pillows. “It kind of hurts more when you won’t even talk to me, Bucky.” She smiled shyly at him. “Sex would be nice, too.”

He quirked a dark brow at her and the corner of his mouth lifted into a grin. “Oh, is that so?”

“That’s so. You may not be religious but I’ll make you see God if you give me a try.”

He let out a bark of laughter. “Did you just quote Poison at me?”

She beamed at him, “You understood that reference!!” She felt a warmth in her belly at the sound of his laugh and it went all the way to her toes. He sobered after a moment and looked pointedly at where her fingers still stroked his cybernetic arm.

“Are you sure? I’m not a great catch, Darcy…”

She felt her eyes roll again and she tugged and pulled until he was virtually on the bed with her. “Snuggle up,” she ordered and to his credit, he didn’t argue.

They lay together for a few minutes, maybe five before Bucky rolled her towards him so their noses were touching, her slightly swollen belly resting against his solid one. She pecked him on the mouth and nuzzled his face, relishing his hand in her hair and the smell of him so close.

“You might not think you’re perfect, but I don’t want perfect. I want someone who’ll argue with me and then rock my world. I want someone who makes me want to be better. I want you, you stupid lug. I want Us.”

He nodded against her cheek. “I want us too.”

“Promise?”

He rubbed her belly, hitching her thigh up over his hip and pulling her as close as he could get her. “Promise.”

She hummed, contented. “You never said where you’ve been…?” She peered up at him from beneath her lashes and waited.

“Right, about that...”

 


	3. 3.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the length - I had to split this one in two or else it would give away... something.. :)

Bucky was more than a little bit hesitant to tell her where he had been and why. It took her almost an hour of subtle wheedling and needling until he’d given even the minutest clue.

“Did someone say something to you?”

He looked at her, face suddenly blank save for the slightest tick in his left eyebrow. “Like what?”

Her eyes narrowed. “Someone’s been in your ear, haven’t they.”

He didn’t reply, merely kept his eyes glued to where his hand was spread across her swollen belly, metal on cotton.

“Bucky,” she urged gently. “What did they say?” And who was it, her mind screamed. Someone had been sabotaging her life behind her back for the last three weeks and she was only just finding out now? For fucks sake…

He opened his mouth and paused, then licked his lips. “Someone told me that the baby was a mistake… That you didn’t want it or me and you were just too afraid to tell me. That you wanted me to leave you alone.” He looked up, entirely too vulnerable for his own good. “So, I did.”

She froze, horrified. Someone had been filing his head with utter nonsense and he had believed them? “You _believed_ them?!” She cried, moving to sit up and this time allowing him to assist her. She huffed and puffed, her hands and feet sore from the swelling and finally managed to sit upright beside him. It was a tight fit, but they managed until he moved to stand by the bed so she had more space.

“I wasn’t sure what to believe,” he offered, “We don’t know each other so well yet and…”

Darcy swallowed thickly. “And what?” When he didn’t answer right away she grew impatient. “And what, Bucky?!”

He eyed her carefully. It was true, he didn’t know her so well yet but he knew well enough not to piss off a hormonal woman. “She told me you were having second thoughts about keeping the baby. It’s not my place to tell you what decision to make, so...”

“So you fucking avoided me?! You took the word of someone else over mine? No, wait, you didn’t even ask me what was going on, did you? You-” she took a deep calming breath and squared her shoulders, levelled him with her best ‘Mama Lewis’ glare and asked him. “Do _YOU_ want this baby, Bucky?”

He blinked, surprised. “It doesn’t matter what I want.” He insisted adamantly and it made her stomach clench. He honestly believed that? His mouth formed a tight, thin line. “ _It doesn’t matter what I want_.” He repeated.

She looked at him, heartbroken. “Bucky,” she felt the tears well up in her eyes as he looked over her shoulder resolutely. “Baby, it _DOES_ matter what you want.” She insisted, fingers seeking out his flesh hand and squeezing. She asked again, “Do you want the baby?”

He stared at her, growing more and more uncomfortable by the second. “I,” he looked at her belly, the growing bump that housed their child and gave a short, sharp nod. “Yes, I want it.” He looked even more vulnerable now that he’d admitted it aloud. “Please don’t get rid of it, Darcy-girl _…. Please_ let me have this?”

She tugged on his hand and pulled him back toward the bed. “Who’s been filling your head with this bullshit, hmm?” She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged with all her might, face buried in his day old t-shirt.

“… bullshit-?” he tentatively hugged her back. “You mean…?”

“I mean,” she started, “-that whoever has been telling you those things is a flat out liar.” She looked up when she felt his breathing hitch, his heartbeat quicken. “I’m keeping the baby.” She promised. “ _WE_ are keeping the baby.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Points for whomever guesses the identity of the culprit!


	4. Chapter Four

Darcy eyed her best friend’s back for a long moment, teeth worrying her bottom lip, hands wringing the hem of her shirt in front of her. How was she supposed to do this? She was desperate for it to be some huge misunderstanding but she had a gut feeling that Bucky was telling the truth… She knew Jane, she loved Jane, but why would she say such awful things to someone that she knew Darcy had feelings for?

“Janey?”

The scientist jumped and banged her head, spinning to look at Darcy with wide, startled eyes. “Darcy! Where have you been?! Are you alright?” She squinted, eyeing Darcy’s belly. “Is everything… ok?”

Darcy shot her a tired, wry smile. “I’m fine, Jane. I was in the infirmary overnight, I had a panic attack and my blood pressure was a little high, is all.”

Jane’s eyes widened and she took a tentative step in Darcy’s direction, the roll of duct tape in her hands forgotten. “But you ARE ok?”

“Yeah,” she thought back to her night, the thought of large, warm hands and the crisp apple scent that went with them and smiled properly now. “Yeah, I am.”

Jane’s relief was palpable. She let out a huge sigh and her shoulders sagged, a warm smile blossoming on her face. “Good,” she said, clapping her hands together. “Back to work then!”

Darcy sobered slightly, holding her hand up and opening her mouth to speak. “Can we talk, Jane?”

Jane frowned. “Sure, but can we talk and work?”

“No,” Darcy shook her head decisively. She thought for a long minute before blurting it all out. May as well, she thought. “Did you say anything to Bucky about the baby?”

A fine eyebrow lifted and Jane cocked her head slightly. “Sure, I did.”

Darcy hummed, her belly fluttering with nerves. “And did you tell him I didn’t want the baby?”

“Well, yeah,” she answered, confused. She set down the tape, hands on her hips now when she saw Darcy’s expression morph into one of anger. “You said you didn’t want kids!”

“No, Jane,” she said quietly, teeth clenched. “I always said I wasn’t sure if I’d have time for kids, I never said I didn’t want any!” She took a deep, calming breath. “In any case, Jane, what right did you think you had saying something like ‘Darcy is thinking about aborting the baby’ to him?? I never said anything of the sort to you or anyone else for that matter!”

Jane flushed scarlet. “But, you always said that you wanted to work for the U.N. and didn’t see yourself with children! If you have this baby then you won’t be able to-”

“That’s not your decision, Jane!” Darcy took another calming breath. “Did you know that Bucky thinks he has no say in this pregnancy? He’s convinced – thanks to you – that I’m going to get rid of the baby no matter what he wants…. This is HIS baby too, Jane. If I was to decide to give the baby up, which I am not, that is nothing to do with anyone but myself and Bucky.” She eyed Jane and silenced her with one raised finger. “Do you understand, Jane?”

Jane blustered for moment, her cheeks going a splotchy red. “No, I don’t! You always told me that your life plans didn’t include children and here you are just throwing them all away for the result of a one night stand!”

Darcy gaped at her. “One night – well, ok. How about this? You put your entire life on hold for Thor after knowing him for a matter of days. There were no children involved, no concrete relationship to speak of and you just stopped everything because you were convinced he was the one!”

“But he IS the one for me!”

Darcy tugged on her hair and let out a shriek of anger. “And Bucky is the one for me! I’m having his baby, Jane and nothing you can say or do can change that. I WANT this child and I’m having it whether you support my decision or not!”

Jane stared at her long and hard, then sighed deeply. “Darce, it’s not that I don’t support your decision-”

“Except that you don’t.”

The scientist frowned and folded her arms across her ribs protectively. “Can I finish? Thankyou.” She took a step closer and eyed Darcy’s belly. “You never told me that you wanted children someday – I always assumed that because you said you didn’t have time for them that you didn’t want any and I’m sorry if I misunderstood you and upset you.” She tentatively reached out and traced a gentle line over Darcy’s slight bump, snatching her fingers back almost immediately with an apologetic look on her face. “If my actions caused any harm to you or the baby I could never forgive myself.”

Darcy studied her for a long moment. “And what about Bucky?”

Jane frowned, confused and her nose wrinkled. “What about him?”

“What about the emotional trauma you’ve caused him? He’s upset, Janey. Really upset. Don’t you get it? He thinks I’m going to either run away and never let him see the baby or just get rid of it completely just because it’s his.” She lifted her chin and squared her shoulders. “You need to apologise to him.”

“But,” her foot tapped, agitated. “-why?”

Darcy felt her lungs swell with the breath she took and she exploded. “BECAUSE YOU HURT HIM!”

Jane’s startled look almost made her feel bad for raising her voice, but then she took another deep breath and calmly turned to leave. “I’m serious, Jane. I wouldn’t tell Thor that you didn’t want his children, so why should you tell Bucky I don’t want his?” She had almost reached the door when it slid open and she was faced with the Thunder God himself. She shot him a tired, warm smile. It was the first time seeing him since she had discovered she was to be a mother.

“Hey, Big guy.” Her breath rushed from her chest and she spluttered as she was hauled from her feet, a stubble-rough kiss finding its way to her brow. She giggled and wrapped her arms around him in return. “Whoa,” she laughed, “Hi!”

He set her down gently, pulling back to smile down at her. “My sister,” he boomed, “You will make a fine mother to your children.” He murmured a few quiet words in a foreign language and then smiled even brighter, his entire face lighting up. “May your lives be filled with much happiness.”

Darcy blinked back tears. She had the strangest feeling that she had just been blessed by The God of Thunder (and fertility). She swallowed thickly and glanced back at a pale, silent Jane. “Thank you, Thor.” Her voice was small but grateful and she started from the room. A sudden thought made her pause. “Thor?”

He cocked his head curiously. “Yes, Darcy?”

“Did you say children?”


	5. Chapter 5.

Two heartbeats.

There were two heartbeats.

Thor was right. _Of course_ he was right.

Darcy looked up at Bucky with wide, wondering eyes and grinned. “There’s two!” She reached for him and he reached out and linked his fingers with hers blindly. He was still too busy staring at the grainy picture on the monitor by the bedside, completely out of his depth. He moved a step closer, watching as the babies, Jesus, he was going to be a father to twins, moved slightly. The heartbeats thrummed in his ears, a rapid whooshing sound and he frowned in confusion as his throat tightened and his eyes grew wet. Darcy’s thumb stroked his knuckles and he swallowed thickly.

“So this is Baby A,” the doctor explained quietly, making a circle on the screen, “-and this is Baby B.” Another circle. “Both look to be nice and healthy, exactly where they should be.”

Darcy sniffled, her fingers looped around his. “They look like little jellybeans,” she laughed, looking up at him briefly. “When will we know what they are?”

“Not yet,” the doctor admitted, “Generally that’s at your twenty week scan – possibly before or even just after.”

Confused now, Bucky cleared his throat. “And when is that?”

Undeterred, the doctor flicked through Darcy’s paperwork and double checked the dates. “Darcy is currently eleven weeks pregnant, so in six to seven weeks you should know – if so inclined – what you’ll be expecting.” She finished with a smile and set down the clipboard. She offered Darcy the box of tissues and moved for the door. “I’ll leave you to get yourself sorted out.”

“Thank you,” Darcy called softly, eyeing Bucky with a cautious look. Once they were alone she wiped at her belly as best as she could and started when he began helping her, gathering all the cool gel that she’d missed on the first go in the tissue he had grabbed. “Are you alright?” She took his wrist and squeezed reassuringly.

He shot her a sorry excuse for a smile. “I’m fine.” When she stared at him a minute longer he sighed. “I just… I never thought that this would be happening to me and now? Twins, Darcy-girl. Twins.”

She chuckled, shaking her head. “Tell me about it,” she laughed. “We have to pick four names now!”

He blinked, surprised. “You mean I get to pick?”

“Well, yeah… They’re your babies too, Bucky.” She shot him a pleased smile as he helped her sit up and she adjusted her skirt to sit back over her belly, pulled her shirt down and slipped to her feet. “Any suggestions?”

He pursed his lips, eyes on her stomach. “Girls or boys?” It was difficult enough to comprehend for him that his sons or daughters were tucked away beneath her shirt, safe and sound but to think that he had a hand in naming them…? Shit, he needed to talk to Steve.

Completely unaware of his inner turmoil, Darcy shrugged. “Either. It’s not like we don’t have time to think or change our minds.”

**

 

Steve looked up from his sketchbook with a nervous smile. “How’d it go?”

Bucky fidgeted, something he didn’t do often, not with his past training anyway. “I need to think of four names,” he chewed at his bottom lip, “Two boys, two girls.”

Steve blinked, choked and dropped his pencil. “Four?! Darcy’s having four babies?”

“What? No. Twins.” He replied distractedly. He began to pace. “She’s having twins and she told me that I get to pick names. Steven, I don’t know the first thing about naming a baby, let alone two!”

Steve climbed to his feet, hands outstretched as he recognised Bucky’s descent into panic. He had come along with leaps and bounds but there were some things that were still a little bit much for him and obviously this was one of those things. “Did you tell Darcy this?”

He shook his head mutely. “She went to call her mother and,” his fingers tapped out tattoo against his thigh. “I don’t know what I’m doing, Steve.” He looked up, eyes wide and afraid. “What if I’m a terrible father?”

“You love those kids already, Buck. You won’t be.”

“But I don’t deserve this!” He blurted out and Steve felt his stomach twist. He’d had a hard enough time convincing Bucky of his worth in the first few months he’d been back but this was a whole other ballpark. He sighed quietly, hands on Bucky’s shoulders.

“There isn’t anyone who deserves a little happiness more, Buck. You’re safe here, Darcy is safe here and your children are safe here. Ok?” He shook him lightly, chin ducked down to catch his eye. It took a moment but he finally nodded and Steve shot him a bright smile. “Right. So, names huh?” he made a thinking sound, tapping his chin with his grubby finger. “I like the name Steven, myself.”

 

 


	6. Chapter 6.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So hi!... anyone still reading? Kind of.. maybe? Anywho, please enjoy this little offering - let there be fluff!!

Darcy looked out the car window, her mouth quirked in a tiny, pleased smile as she watched the trees fly past them. She was almost four and a half months along now and her belly had grown to the point where she could no longer comfortably fit behind the wheel of the car and still reach the pedals. No, now she was at the stage where she was being driven everywhere and accompanied on each and every outing as there was no mistaking her pregnant belly. Clint had joked that she’d needed a wide load sign and once she had stopped crying (and Bucky had given him a black eye) she had grudgingly agreed with him. Nothing fit right, her beautiful new clothes all needed adjusting and her feet had ballooned up a size but she had never been happier.

She glanced at her driver and smiled widely at him as they pulled onto the hidden dirt road in amongst the forestry.

“Are we there yet?” She asked, pulling her headphones off. Her stomach flipped in protest as the car bounced along the driveway and she grabbed for the handle above her head with one hand and rubbed her belly with the other. She had never gotten travel sick before, but now she was plagued by the condition – mostly when she was flying, but occasionally in the car too.  “Ugh,” she muttered, eyes squeezed shut as she felt her lunch roll around inside. “Can we go a little slower?”

“Right, sorry, Darce.” Steve immediately slowed the car to something akin to a crawl and glanced at her a few times. “You alright? Do we need to stop?”

She gave him a tight smile and ducked to look out the window. “Depends,” she answered. “How far to our destination?”

“At this pace? Couple of minutes, maybe.”

Darcy inhaled deeply and cracked the window. “I’ll be fine, Steve. Keep driving.” As they continued up the secluded, winding driveway she eyed him out of the corner of her eye. “I want to thank you,” she said after a moment of thought. “For being there for Bucky and I. We couldn’t have gotten this far without your help.”

His ears turned pink and he shot her a warm, pleased smile. “It’s no problem, Darcy. You two are my two favourite people in the world right now,” he shrugged. “I’m just pleased that you guys have seemed to work things out.”

She blushed and smiled, purple tipped fingers spread across her belly. He was right though, they had been working out the kinks in their relationship for the past few weeks and as a result they had grown closer and closer until they had gradually ended up sharing a bed more often than not. There had been no further relations so to speak, but when she woke up most mornings with Bucky’s warmth curled around her, his face buried in her hair and nose by her ear… Well, it felt well worth it.

“Heads up,” Steve’s voice broke her from her daydreaming and she looked up ahead to see the most picturesque log cabin she had ever seen coming into view.

Bucky was already there waiting for them – she could see the quin jet sitting in the clearing by the house and there was a plume of pale smoke coming from the chimney.

She immediately burst into tears.

“Darce?” Steve looked at her, stricken as the car slowed to a stop. “What’s the matter?”

She sniffled violently and rubbed at her face, wiping tears away with the tissues he offered her. “Its so pretty here,” she warbled, “So pretty!” She silently berated herself for her mercurial mood swings and felt only a little embarrassed when Steve laughed softly. His big hand rubbed her shoulder and pulled her tight against his side, awkward as it may have been in the cramped little car, it made her feel a whole lot better. She smiled a wobbly smile at him and pat him on the cheek. “You’re a peach, Stevie.”

He flushed again. “I thought that was my line?”

She threw her head back and laughed, only jumping a little bit when the car door opened on her side and cool, fall air washed into the warm car. She peered up at the culprit through her lashes and smiled widely when she saw her kinda-sorta boyfriend looking down at her. “Hi,” she said as she hauled herself out of the car and into his arms, her cheeks warm with blush.

“Hey you,” he pecked her on the cheek and bent to look at Steve who was still in the car. “I’ll give you a call when we’re ready to come in.” He told the other man and with that, Steve started the car and disappeared back the way he’d come.

Darcy looked up at the cabin and inhaled deeply. She could smell wood smoke, pine and apples from the nearby orchard as well as a hint of moisture in the air. It was going to rain soon, possibly snow. Beside her, Bucky fidgeted.

“Well?”

She beamed up at him and slipped her small hand into his metal one. “It’s perfect.”

**

Bucky flipped the sealed envelope over in his hands, elbows braced on his knees and head hung low as he waited for Darcy to return from the bathroom. They had agreed, seeing as he couldn’t be there for the sexing of the babies that neither of them would know what they were expecting until they were together.

He couldn’t lie and say he wasn’t nervous, because he was. He was damned nervous. Terrified even. What if he was a terrible father and hurt one of them, or even both of them? What if Darcy… No. No, he wasn’t even going down that path.

The babies were healthy. Darcy was healthy (save for her motion sickness). They were fine.

A smaller hand slipped into his and he looked up to see her giving him a warm, encouraging smile. “Hey,” she waved her own envelope at him and took a deep breath. “You ready?”

He opened his mouth to speak and nothing came out. Instead he took the envelope out of her hand and switched them around, then handed hers back.

“I got a feelin’ ‘bout this one,” he explained, tapping it against his thigh.

Darcy smiled at him and pressed the envelope in her hands to her lips, smearing it with lipstick before tearing it open with the glee of a child on Christmas. She peered into it, slipping the photo out and avoiding the writing on the bottom until Bucky had done the same. “On three?” She waited for his nod and on three they each flipped the photographs to face each other. She saw the exact moment he registered baby B’s gender and the glassy spread of wetness in his eyes. “Well?”

“A girl…” he murmured. “It’s a girl.”

Darcy burst into tears and sobbed for a moment before she realised she hadn’t taken in the second baby’s gender. “Oh shit,” she sniffled violently and wiped at her face with shaking fingertips. She read the writing on the bottom of his photo and a wide, ecstatic grin spread across her mouth. “A boy!! It’s a boy!”

Bucky’s heart stuttered. One of each? Jesus, one of each. He was going to have a son and a daughter. He surged forward and pressed his lips to Darcy’s, cradling her face in his palms as he poured everything he had into the kiss.

“Mine,” he mumbled against her mouth, a hand coming down to rest on her swollen belly. “All mine.”

She nuzzled his face and stroked his hair the way she knew he liked, pulling his other hand over her wildly beating heart. “Yours.”

 


	7. 7.

He watched her put away her fifth mango in a row, mouth pursed in an amused grin.

“You’ve got a little..” he gestured to the sticky juice dripping down her cheek and huffed out a laugh as she scrubbed at her face with the back of her wrist. “Got it.”

She beamed at him, fingers and face sticky with mango nectar, the skins and seeds sitting next to her as she plowed her way through the small box of the tropical fruit that Tony had gifted her with. She had been craving something sweet all week, mangoes to be more specific and despite the fact that they weren’t in season the billionaire had procured some for her and handed them to the pregnant woman with a flourish. He’d then disappeared back into his lab and left her to enjoy and make a mess of herself.

Bucky blinked, surprised when she snapped her fingers in front of his face and pushed a cube of the sweet fruit at the seam of his lips. He opened his mouth and accepted the offering with a flick of his tongue, grinning so hard it hurt as she flushed a pretty pink and ducked her chin.

“You’re beautiful,” he blurted out, knife coming out to cut the next mango for her, cheeks sliced off and cubed in no time. Darcy blushed properly now, the red spreading from her ears to the tops of her breasts and underneath. He knew how far the blush spread down her body, familiar with her in ways that some people were still uncomfortable with despite the fact that she was nearly seven months pregnant with his children.

“Thank you,” she sucked a piece of fruit into her mouth and then licked her fingers, releasing them with a wet pop and a satisfied grin. “Remind me to thank Tony again.”

Bucky speared a piece of mango with his knife and nodded. “You need to be knocked up all the time,” he commented, chewing and relishing the flavor of the sweet, sticky fruit with his eyes closed. He blinked them open after a second and looked at his now silent and still girlfriend. “I mean, I meant…”

Darcy shook her head and pushed the cutting board aside, wiping her fingers on the worn apron she’d put on to catch any stray drips. “No, no we need,” she swallowed thickly. “I wasn’t sure if you’d still want me after…”

Bucky’s stomach clenched, sick with the implication of what she was trying to say.

She went on. “I thought maybe once the babies were born we would go back to how we were before.” She said quietly and just a little sad. “….that we could still be friends.”

He stared at her with a look of sheer confusion on his face. “Darce, why would I give up the best thing that’s ever happened to me?” he set down the sticky knife and moved to sit in front of her instead of beside her. “How long have you thought I wouldn’t want you anymore?” her silence spoke volumes and he felt more than a little bit sick. “Oh, Darce… No.” He took her sticky fingers in his and kissed their tips. “I love you, Darcy-Lou. I’m not about to throw you away just because you’re not playing incubator to my children anymore.”

She looked up at him, startled, eyes glassy. “Y-you what?”

He had never been this nervous in his life. “I love you.” He repeated, voice firm and unyielding.

Fat, wet tears started to roll over her flushed cheeks and she sniffed violently, giggling. “I really fucking love you too, you know.”

He smiled at her, face bright and blinding. “Good, ‘cause we’re gonna have a whole heap of kids, you and me.”

She laughed and squeezed his hands, nose wrinkling at the tacky juice on them. “Oh, you’re sure, huh?”

He nodded and leaned in to kiss her. “Definitely.” He planted one on her mouth with a loud smack and dropped his forehead against hers. “Thor said so.”

 


	8. Chapter Eight

“So you’re saying – you asshole – that you let me wear a lavender shirt and told me it was blue?” Steve blinked at him, lip curled in annoyance when he heard Darcy snort in a less than ladylike way. He flipped her the bird and kept staring at his best friend, flicking his paint brush at him and splattering him with jade green paint. “You’re a jerk.”

Bucky smirked, shoulders rolling casually in a shrug. “I am aware.”

Steve scoffed, parroting his words and pulling an unattractive face. “ _I am aware_ , he says. You’re an ass of epic proportions, Buck. You _knew_ that was going to get me roughed up!” He spat, turning back to the wall, brush in hand. “I am aware…”

Darcy laughed heartily from her perch by the window, the breeze stealing away the paint fumes and ruffling her curls. “Come on, Stevie…” she laughed. “I’m sure he didn’t do it on purpose.”

“Don’t call me that!” he barked sourly. “And yes he damn well did!”

“What’s wrong with a lavender shirt?” Darcy asked innocently, “You wore one the other night to that gala, remember? With the charcoal three piece suit.” She fanned herself. “You looked hot.”

He shot her a grudgingly amused grin. “Thank you, Darce, but in the forties if a man wore a color that was seen as feminine… Well..” He jabbed a finger in Bucky’s direction. “He saw what happened!” At the sound of Bucky’s raucous laughter Steve sputtered. “Ass!”

Darcy shot Bucky a sobering look and he crawled to his feet, hand in the paint tray and flipped it against the wall with a splatter. He ignored it and wiped the vivid green on a denim clad thigh. “I know I let you go out like that, Stevie, but you were _scrappy_ and those guys deserved the ass whoopin’.” He shrugged, “and you gave it to ‘em.”

_“Bucky?”_

“You’re still an asshole.”

_“Bucky?!”_

Bucky grinned. “Yes, I am.” He beamed.

_“BUCKY!”_

Both he and Steve turned to look at Darcy who was sitting on the windowsill, her cheeks blotchy and eyes wide. “Darce? Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

She swallowed slowly and looked down at her lap, her pretty yellow sundress clinging to her thighs. Her voice wobbled slightly and she ran trembling fingers over her bump. “I think my water just broke.”

 

**

 

“What do you _mean_ one of the babies is breech?!” Darcy huffed and hyperventilated. “They were both fine last week when I had my scan!”

Bucky tried to soothe her, flesh fingers trailing gentle lines over her damp brow. He flinched when she swung her attention in his direction and tentatively removed his hand. “I was born breech, Darce, so were two of my sisters-“

“So it’s your fault!!” She tried to sit up and reach for him and he almost moved closer so they could touch until he realised she was actually moving to strangle him. He took a long, slow step backwards and quirked a brow as she started hurling obscenities at him. In Russian.

It went on for a few minutes until she said something unsavory about his parentage and he snapped back.

“Enough! You can hit me, Darcy. You can throw shit at me and you can curse me out but don’t you _dare_ insult my mother!” his voice rose in volume until he was shouting and the room fell silent save for the constant beep-beep-beep of the machines.

There was a beat of silence and then she burst into tears, reaching for him as she apologized over and over, one hand on her belly the other fisted in the gown he wore over his clothes.

“Darce,” his voice was soft and reassuring, “The midwife knows what she’s doing. This is ok. You’ll be fine, the baby will be fine; women have been giving birth for centuries now.” He kissed her knuckles and rasped his cheek across the back of her hand. “You’ve got this, Butterfly.”

She took a deep, shaky breath and nodded. “Right, you’re right…” she looked up at him, blue eyes glassy and curls framing her face in a frizzy riot. “You wont leave?”

He hated how she sounded so small and afraid.

“No, Darce… I won’t leave you.”

From the end of the bed the midwife cleared her throat. “As touching as this is,” she teased, “I think it’s time to say hello to these babies, don’t you?”

 

 

 

 

 


	9. Chapter 9.

“-ucky?”

He blinked slowly, eyes rising to look up at his best friend instead of the wriggling bundle in his arms. He opened his mouth to speak but all that came out was a croaky sob. He coughed wetly, turning his face away and into his shoulder. Steve was there immediately, dinner plate hands gently easing the baby from his hands and up against a solid shoulder until he’d collected himself.

“Girl,” he managed finally, taking a deep, shaky breath. “It’s a girl.”

Steve blinked, startled when he realised he was still holding the baby. “It is? I mean, she is?”

Bucky laughed softly and nodded. He sobered slightly, looking back over his shoulder towards the birthing suite. “She’s tired. Darcy, I mean.” The baby let out a lusty wail and he stroked the back of her tiny head with the backs of his knuckles. “Her name is Camilla Stevie…”

Steve smiled, a warm, pleased look washing across his face. “After your Ma,” he realised. “She’s beautiful, Buck.” He swayed gently from side to side, stubbled cheek resting on the top of Milly’s head as he hummed an old lullaby from his childhood to his god-daughter.

Bucky shot him a tired grin. “And you.” At Steve’s confused look he sighed. “Her middle name is Stevie, Punk.”

Steve blustered for a moment, stunned and then nodded dumbly. “Right,” he finally managed, “Ok.” He was about to say something but stopped short when he saw the nurse over Bucky’s shoulder. “I think you’re needed.”

Bucky disappeared in a flash leaving Steve with baby Camilla, or Milly as he was desperate to call her and the blonde sat down gingerly in a nearby seat, his enhanced hearing picking up Darcy’s cries of distress. He rocked the baby carefully, enraptured by the patch of dark curls on her head, long dark lashes fanned out across her cheeks and the tiniest hint of steely blue eyes. She was the picture of her parents.

She stirred slightly in his arms and Steve hushed her, humming off key and softly until she settled once more. He cringed at the sound of Darcy’s cries and studiously refused to look up, even when someone sat beside him and when a hand appeared within his sight, reaching for the baby, he jerked away.

“What do you think you’re – oh!” He stammered slightly at the teary older woman. “Mrs Lewis,” he took in her flustered yet tired features and the bags at her feet, her hand still aloft and reaching to touch baby Milly. He shot her a warm smile and urged her to sit. “Mrs Lewis, this is Camilla Stevie,  your granddaughter.”

He sat by her side once she had taken custody of the baby and wrapped his arm around her, hugging her from one side as she crooned tearfully over her little grand baby.

She sniffed dramatically. “My granddaughter in my arms, Captain America hugging me,” she half sighed, half laughed. “I’ll never wash again!”

The pair laughed quietly and it was after a short wait later that Bucky reappeared, peering around the door with bloodshot eyes and visible tear tracks on his cheeks. He was holding his flesh hand at a funny angle and Steve cocked a brow but he waved him off and smiled at the image of Darcy’s mother cradling her first grandchild. He gave a violent sniff and gestured for them to follow him, returning to Darcy’s side in no time.

She looked exhausted but her eyes were bright and her smile genuine as she saw her mother, daughter and best friend enter the room. She reached for her mother right away having been concerned that she wouldn’t make it for the birth and sobbed as soon as she was wrapped in her arms.

“Mama, you made it…”

Steve looked up and over their heads towards where Bucky was standing and for the first time noticed the small, lemon blanketed bundle in the crib. “Is that…?”

Bucky beamed at him. He downright glowed with pride and nodded. “Steve, this is our son, your god-son, Tavis George.”

Mrs Lewis gasped and looked from Darcy to Bucky with wide, teary eyes, her hand over her mouth.

“Did you say Tavis?”

Darcy nodded, her teeth hugging her bottom lip and she burst into tears as he mother flung herself at Bucky, sobbing.

“Oh you dear boy,” she cried, “Thank you! Thank you!”

Steve soothed Darcy as Bucky rubbed calming circles on Mrs Lewis’ back and when she was capable, Darcy quietly explained.

“Tavis was my Daddy,” she wiped her face with a tissue he’d offered her, “He passed away when I was young… Mama almost didn’t make it without him. Obviously George was Bucky’s Pa.”

Steve nodded as he watched Bucky get showered with affection and felt the dam inside well. Finally his best friend was getting what he’d always wanted; a family of his own. He looked down at Darcy, now nursing her daughter and kissed her on top of her head.

“Thank you Darce,” he whispered, “-for giving him a chance.”

She smiled up at him, cheeks pink and hair a mess. “Thank you for giving him the nudge in my direction… I know it was your idea for him to come talk to me that night.”

He grinned. “Any time, Darcy-Lou, any time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So i couldn't remember if Bucky's mother had been previously named... so i just came up with one myself. Hope you enjoyed!!


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